ECOWAS makes volte-face, lifts sanctions on Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger
The four military leaders of West African countries of Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have finally forced the hands of the sub-regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to back down on its hard stance.
The body had slammed a cocktail of sanctions on the four countries after military leaders sacked democratic governments therein.
On Saturday, at the end of the extraordinary summit held in Abuja, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, again urged the affected countries to reconsider their decision to quit the sub-regional bloc.
In the bid to mollify the four countries, ECOWAS said that it was lifting the suspension of land and air borders closure. The implication of the decision is that commercial flights can fly into and out of Niger.
The body equally unfreeze all financial transactions between ECOWAS states and Niger, including transactions relating to the bloc’s central bank and the unfreezing of all of Niger’s assets at the EBID.
Similarly, ECOWAS announced it has lifted the travel ban on members of Niger’s military junta and their families.
In the same vein, the body lifted the ban on election of Malians ECOWAS positions.
Other decisions are that the lifting of the commercial sanctions on Guinea, and that representatives of the four countries can now attend technical consultative meetings of ECOWAS.
The body however said that its political sanctions on the four countries would remain.
